Oliver Bearman has been named as the “obvious candidate” to replace Lewis Hamilton if the seven-time Formula 1 champion’s struggles with Ferrari continue. Hamilton joined the Scuderia with the aim of adding an eighth title to his trophy cabinet before retiring from the sport, but his debut season in red was a largely miserable one and has left many wondering whether he is still at the peak of his powers.

With new engine and aerodynamic design rules coming into force in 2026, it is the reset Ferrari need to try to push themselves back into contention for race wins and the championship. If they cannot do that, or if Hamilton is unable to extract the best fromt he car he is given, then next season may prove to be his last on the grid.

If that is to be the case, then former Haas team principal Guenther Steiner has no doubt that Bearman should be the one to step up. The British driver, 20, remains a Ferrari development driver and enjoyed a strong debut season in F1 overall with Steiner’s former team, overcoming a difficult start to the year to secure some big results after the summer break which saw him end the season three points ahead of more experienced team-mate Esteban Ocon.

“This year starting off being fast but making mistakes, but second half of the season he got rid of them and it’s just like a switch,” Steiner told the Red Flags podcast.

“In the first half of the season, I thought he was taking too much risk with the car he had and therefore he had a few offs. It wasn’t good, he got a lot of penalty points. He still kept on collecting them in the second half of the season but he didn’t make mistakes anymore, even in the race, fighting hard.”

The highlight of Bearman’s season undoubtedly came in Mexico City, where he qualified well and took full advantage of squabbling cars ahead of him to finish fourth in the Grand Prix. The most eye-catching moment saw him overtake Max Verstappen and George Russell at the same corner as the Red Bull and Mercedes drivers squabbled for position.

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Like many others, Steiner saw enough to be convinced that Bearman is ready to make the step up to Ferrari if and when required. He added: “I think for him the door should be open to Ferrari for ’27, because if Lewis hasn’t got the success he needs to have, I don’t think that he continues and then there is the obvious candidate there for Ferrari.”

Bearman has admitted that he is “a bit jealous” of fellow rookie Isack Hadjar, who also enjoyed a strong debut year in F1 and was rewarded with a promotion to the main Red Bull team to partner Verstappen in 2026. But he knows that, if he continues to perform, then it is simply a matter of when rather than if he will get a change of his own with a top team.

The Brit said: “I’m sure my time will come, and I’m very happy for him. Of course, I have raced with him since Formula 3, and he’s shown incredible talent and speed. It’s great that the rookie generation is getting recognised and now we have both Kimi [Antonelli] and Isack in top teams, so that’s great. Just waiting for my shot now, but it will come one day.”